Second Chance
by Alia4
Summary: Once known as The Deal. Summary: What if Vash made a deal concerning Wolfwood after his death? Please, please please R&R.
1. Default Chapter

Used to be called "The Deal" but I was having problems, if I can't get this to load again, I'm going to try and find another place to put it (I have an idea) but wish me luck :).

* * *

Vash had followed the trail of blood to this building and was not surprised to see it was a church. He pushed the door open jumping slightly when it creaked loudly.

"Wolfwood?" he called and stopped when he saw the figure leaning against the large cross, not moving. Vash quickly picked up his pace and moved towards the man.

"Nick?" he asked again, reaching the other man. There was no response from the Nicholas D Wolfwood and Vash was worried. He reached out a hand to touch the other man and was horrified at the coldness of the body. Vash sat down quickly, his legs giving out on him as he stared at his friend. Tears came to his eyes, not tears of sadness but of anger. He jumped to his feet and turned to the cross at the back of the building.

"Why?!" he screamed at the man hanging there. "Why him?! He was a good man! Why him?! He wasn't supposed to die this way!!" he cried. He turned, looking for something to throw, when he couldn't find anything, Vash slumped to the floor, leaning against a pew, tears streaming down his face a sob escaping his lips.

"What would you have done?" a voice said from behind him. Vash jumped to his feet and turned around to see a man standing in the shadows.

"I would have saved him, I would have been there for him," Vash said, wiping his tears.

"There was nothing you could have done had you been here," the man replied.

"He would not have died alone," Vash whispered, thinking of one of his own greatest fears. There was silence as Vash felt the other man scrutinizing him.

"You would give your life for his." It was a statement not a question.

"Yes," Vash said quietly. The man stared for another long minute then nodded his head.

"Done," with that Vash saw a bright light and then nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

"Vash..." a voice was calling to him. "Come on Tongari you're worrying me here. Wake up!" Vash opened his eyes slowly to find a pair of darker ones looking at him intently. "Thank God," Nicholas D Wolfwood said, sitting back. The next thing Wolfwood knew he was enveloped in a large hug by the other man. "Um, Vash?" he asked. Vash pulled back and started looking at him, pulling at his clothes, looking for wounds.

"You're ok," Vash said grinning at the other man.

"I'm not the one that was injured Tongari," Wolfwood said and Vash sat back looking at him confused and was quickly reminded of his injuries as he doubled over, pain shooting through his abdomen. "Great, now I have to re-stitch those," Wolfwood said, pushing Vash back on the bed.

"What happened?" Vash asked his memories of the battle fading.

"Well you, being the imbecile you are, ran off without us and got injured," Vash looked up to see Meryl Stryfe standing in the doorway, hands on hips, foot tapping angrily as Millie stood behind her, smiling and waving.

"Luckily for you, I knew where you were headed," Wolfwood stated, not looking up from working on Vash's stomach. "I ran across Kain the Longshot and took him out about two 'iles outside of town. I came into town to find Chapel dead and you near death in the church." Vash knew there was something wrong with that story but could not place his finger on what.

"Where are we now?" he asked.

"The town of May, you've been out for about a week now," Meryl said, stepping into the room, Millie following.

"We almost lost you Mr. Vash," Millie said in her high voice.

"Look Tongari why don't you get some rest," Wolfwood said, standing after finishing with the stitches. "We'll be back to check on you later." Vash nodded and watched the three leave, something was wrong, something was different, but what escaped his grasp as sleep overtook him.

"_You would give your life for his."_

"_Yes."_

"..._Done."_


	3. Chapter 3

Vash woke up sweating, his dream escaping his memory, he knew it had been important but why, he was not sure.

"Oh good you're awake." Vash looked up to see Wolfwood standing there, holding a plate of food. "You hungry?"

"Yeah, I could eat," Vash said, sitting up slowly. Wolfwood placed the plate on the table and helped him sit against the headboard.

"Careful Tongari," he said turning to grab the plate. He handed it to Vash and pulled a chair up beside the bed, lighting a cigarette as Vash started eating. "What the hell were you thinking?!" Wolfwood asked after a few moments of silence making Vash jump.

"What...?" Vash asked.

"I would have gone with you, you could have died! You were lucky I got there when I did, if I had spent any time dealing with Kain's body, you would have." Wolfwood stood and started pacing, cigarette dangling from his lips. "There are people in this world that care about you Vash and what happens to you." Wolfwood had stopped with his back to Vash and he turned a smirk on his face. "So just be more careful huh?" Vash nodded and Wolfwood sat back down. Vash kept eating and a smile soon graced his features.

"Didn't know you cared so much Nick," he said grinning at the other man.

"I don't Tongari," was the reply causing Vash to laugh, and then double over in pain. "Damn it Vash you ripped the stitches again!"

"_I thought you were bringing him back with you," a voice questioned the man that Vash had seen in the church._

"_You know as well as I that they will need him in the up coming fight. I will retrieve him once his tasks are completed." The first voice sighed._

"_You have toyed with the line of time once again, they will not be happy with that."_

"_It was necessary." The first voice sighed once more, looking down at the two men._

"_Hopefully we can make them see that."_


	4. Chapter 4

Ok here's Chapter 4, hopefully this will work or I'll be very angry.  Thank you all for the reviews, you rock.

 Crazy4CellLegato: Thanks, its nice to have a fan :). 

ShadowVixen90: I'm not so sure about the romance thing, maybe I'll squeeze something in later, havent thought that far ahead :). 

Sakari: Thank you for reading :).

* * *

Wolfwood, Meryl, and Millie were sitting at the table two days later eating breakfast when they heard a noise behind them and turned. Vash was standing there, fully dressed looking pale but determined.

"Vash you shouldn't be up yet," Wolfwood said standing but Vash brushed him off, stepping lightly into the room and up to the table.

"I'm fine Nick," he said sitting in one of the chairs.

"Vash..." Wolfwood started.

"Wolfwood I'm fine!" Vash snapped standing again. "I need to find Knives, you coming?" he asked looking at Wolfwood. Wolfwood stared back at him for a long moment and sighed.

"Of course I'm coming Tongari."

"What about us?" Meryl asked standing. Vash turned a cool look on her.

"You're staying here," he stated simply.

"Like hell we are," Meryl cried becoming angry. "We were assigned to you to make sure you don't destroy anything." Vash stared at her for a moment and she felt her anger dissipating.

"You don't have to worry about that. I'm pretty sure I know where my brother is and it is no where near a city. Come on Nick," he said turning and walking towards the door. Wolfwood looked at the two women, gabbed his cross, and walked out behind Vash. The two girls followed them out, Wolfwood placed his cross in the back, and Vash turned back to the two women.

"Take care of yourselves," he said gripping Meryl's shoulders and gave her a half smile. He turned to Millie and hugged her. "Take care of Meryl," he said quietly.

"Mr. Vash?" Millie asked, worry tracing her voice and Vash stood back and winked at her. He walked around the front of the car, climbed in, grinned his crazy grin at the two, and waved.

"Bye girls." He started the car and gave them his trademark sign, his pointer, and middle fingers crossed. "Love and Peace!" The girls did not notice that his heart was not fully behind his words and watched as the two drove away after Wolfwood had said his goodbyes.


	5. Chapter 5

"_Well that went well," the man from the church said, sounding somewhat defeated._

"_They accepted your dealing in the mortal lives again," his companion from before said reasonably._

"_Not without repercussions," the first stated._

"_Well it was only fair." The first sighed heavily._

"_I'm not sure about that, returning some of those people may not have been fair, there are only two of them after all."_

"_Everything will work out my friend; we have their promise on that."_

"_That we do, that we do," the first said, his voice didn't sound any more convinced._

A/N: Sorry that was short but I'll explain in the next few chapters, thanks for reading R&R pretty please with sugar on top.  Thanx!


	6. Chapter 6

Wolfwood sat up, shivering in the cold night air and looked over to where Vash was sitting near the fire. Wolfwood studied his companion, worry filling his mind about his injuries and his quietness.

"Vash?" he said quietly, scooting forward so he was sitting next to the other man, keeping the blankets wrapped around him tightly.

"I was just thinking," Vash said quietly. "If I don't live through this..."

"Vash don't start talking like that," Wolfwood snapped.

"No Nick, please listen." Wolfwood nodded and stared into the fire. "I don't know what's going to happen when we get there, I don't know if either of us will make it out, but I do want you to know that I've appreciated your help the last, what year or so?"

"Yeah, it's been about that long," Wolfwood replied.

"Thanks," was all Vash said and it was enough. Then Vash did something that surprised them both, and leaned against Wolfwood's shoulder, both needing the contact. Wolfwood didn't say anything and Vash didn't move either, they both just sat there, staring into the fire for a long moment in companionable silence. Vash yawned widely and Wolfwood chuckled.

"Get some sleep Tongari, you're not completely healed yet," he said and Vash sat up. He nodded and lay down, pulling his blankets over him and scooted closer to the fire, turning on his side so his back was against Wolfwood's side.

"Night Nick," he said sleepily.

"Night Vash," Wolfwood replied, still staring into the fire.

A/N: Aw, cute sappiness. Anyway please R&R, and I'm going to say now, I apologize before hand for what I'm about to do in the next chapter, but I promise I'm going to be nice... eventually (evil grin).


	7. Chapter 7

Again, I apologize for what I'm about to do :). Thanks for R&R, I really appreciate it.

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The next day they drove in silence, both lost in their own thoughts as the sun beat down on them.

"Do you really know where we're going?" Wolfwood asked.

"I have a general idea," Vash replied and Wolfwood sighed he was about to respond when they heard a loud crack and the front right tire of the jeep blew, causing them to swerve to the left.

"What the hell?" Wolfwood cried, gripping the seat and door as Vash fought for control. They finally came to a stop and looked at each other.

"That sounded like..." Vash started to say before they heard another crack and the passenger side mirror exploded.

"Shit!" they both cried and jumped out of the jeep on the drivers side and hid behind it, Wolfwood grabbing his Cross Punisher.

"Chapel!" a voice called and Vash and Wolfwood looked at each other. "Bring the Humanoid Typhoon out here and we'll turn him over to his brother together."

"Who is he talking to, I killed Chapel," Vash said and instinctively ducked when another shot hit the jeep. He looked over at Wolfwood and saw a guilty look on the other man's face. "Nick?" he asked wearily.

"Come on Chapel, let's get a move on," the voice called again.

"Oh God," Vash whispered. "You weren't just a traveling priest were you?"

"Vash you need to hear me out," Wolfwood started to say and was hurt by the pain and the betrayal he saw on Vash's face.

"No," Vash said. "Maybe it's better this way, I'll get to my brother a lot sooner." With that Vash handed Wolfwood his six-shooter but Wolfwood just stared at it.

"You can't just give up like this!" Wolfwood cried and Vash glared at him.

"Sure I can... Chapel," he said coldly and dropped the gun in the sand and stood up, hands raised. Wolfwood was about to say something when three people rounded the front of the jeep and he stared in shock. Kain the Longshot, Dominique the Cyclops and Midvalley the Hornfreak all stood there looking at the two.

"What...?" was all Wolfwood could say.


	8. Chapter 8

Wolfwood sat in the front of the jeep that the three Gung Ho Gun's had brought with them trying to ignore the others in the car. Vash sat in the back between Dominique and Kain while Midvalley drove. He looked at the Cross Punisher in the back tied down and felt helpless.

"Don't even think about it Chapel," Midvalley said under his breath and Wolfwood looked at him and sighed.

They stopped a while later to eat and relieve themselves. Wolfwood sat away from the rest and Midvalley walked up to him and sat down.

"Cheer up Chapel," he said and Wolfwood glared at him.

"Don't call me that," he snapped and Midvalley looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Why not, you've earned it, and your precious orphanage is safe, isn't that what you wanted?" Wolfwood looked away and into the distance at nothing in particular. "Your problem Chapel, is that you care. Here's some advice: don't, because if Knives or Legato catches wind of it, you'll be joining your friend." With that, he stood and walked away. Wolfwood looked over to where Vash was sitting against the jeep, Dominique standing over him and met the man in red's eyes. What he saw there made Wolfwood angry; he saw understanding and forgiveness in Vash's eyes and he turned away to glare at the sand.

"Let's go," Dominique said, pulling Vash to his feet and roughly pushed him into the jeep. Midvalley climbed behind the wheel again and Wolfwood climbed into the passengers' side, still not looking at Vash.


	9. Chapter 9

Vash looked over to where Wolfwood was sitting near the fire and sighed. He had known, he was not as naïve as everyone thought, it was easier to act stupid; it threw people off when he did. When he had first met the man, his instincts screamed at him not to trust him, who would trust a traveling priest that smoked and killed people, but then again, weirder things had happened. That and Chapel had told him who Wolfwood really was before he died, but he had explained about the orphanage and Vash could not really blame Wolfwood for doing what he did. Nevertheless, he had learned to trust the man, had seen him as a very close friend. Vash had meant it when he thanked the other man for what he had done during the time that he had known him and he still considered the traveling priest a friend.

"What?!" Wolfwood cried turning around and Vash smirked at him.

"Nothing Nick, nothing," Vash replied and looked to see where the other three where. Kain was asleep in the back of the jeep, Dominique was asleep near the fire, and Midvalley was sitting not too far away, wide-awake, waiting for Vash to try something. Vash grinned at him and Midvalley sat up straighter, more alert, expecting something and Vash chuckled, this could get fun.

"I thought it was 'Chapel'," came a bitter reply. Vash turned back to Wolfwood surprised.

"Would you rather me call you that?" Wolfwood just scowled and turned back to the fire.

"I'm sorry Vash," Wolfwood said quietly.

"Don't be Wolfwood; I know about the orphanage, I would have done the same thing in your place." Wolfwood looked over at him, somewhat surprised.

"How...?"

"Chapel told me, he also told me who you were," Vash said. Wolfwood looked away, guilt plainly written on his face. "Nick, don't worry about it, everything will work out," he said giving his trademark grin, but this time someone noticed that his heart wasn't behind it and Wolfwood gave him a half smile in return.

"Let's hope so Ton- Vash," he said looking towards Midvalley who was staring out into the desert. Vash followed his gaze and when Midvalley turned back, he grinned at him again, making Midvalley jumpy and chuckled. He looked over when he heard Wolfwood do the same. Wolfwood grinned at him and turned back to the fire and Vash returned to watching the stars.

A/N: I'm not sure Midvalley would act that way but I had to let Vash have _some_ fun.


	10. Chapter 10

"He wont live through this Chapel," Midvalley said looking at the man in the passenger seat. Wolfwood turned to look at Vash who had his head back against the seat and was snoring loudly, much to the annoyance of Kain and Dominique.

"You don't know that," he responded. Midvalley just smiled and Wolfwood glared.

"Why don't you ask him about the deal he made?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Just ask him Wolfwood." Midvalley fell silent and would not say another word.

Vash feigned sleep as he listened to Wolfwood and Midvalley talk and cringed on the inside.

"_Damn you Midvalley," _he thought.

"_Would you still give your life for him?" _Vash looked around and recognized the church but this time Wolfwood was not there.

"Yes," Vash responded. The other man nodded not truly understanding but accepted his answer.

"_You will have to kill your brother, you know that don't you?" _Vash looked at the other man for a long moment.

"Yes," he finally responded, his voice void of emotion. The other man nodded and sighed.

"_All right, good luck." _With that, Vash awoke with someone poking him in the side. He looked up to see Wolfwood standing over him, his Cross Punisher over his shoulder.

"Let's go," Wolfwood said pulling him up and towards the empty jeep. Vash looked around for the others, saw them on the ground bleeding, and turned back to Wolfwood. "No they're not dead just wounded and out for the count." He placed the Cross Punisher in the back of the jeep and Vash noticed a dark stain on Wolfwood's jacket.

"Nick?"

"We'll deal with it later Tongari, just get in." Vash climbed in next to him and Wolfwood started the jeep.

"Did I sleep through a fight?"

"They drugged you," Wolfwood responded. "Plus there were no gun shots, I knocked Dominique over the head got Kain but Midvalley got me in the side before I could get to him. I figured that it would be easier to deal with your brother without them, Legato is going to be enough."

"Will you be all right?"

"I'll be fine Tongari," Wolfwood said pulling out a cigarette and lit it.

"So… Do you know where we're going?" Vash asked.

"I have a general idea," Wolfwood replied, smirking and Vash sighed.


	11. Chapter 11

They were sitting on the jeep later that night staring out into the darkness, Wolfwood had a cigarette between his lips and Vash was leaning on an arm that was resting on his knee.

"Why?" Wolfwood finally broke the silence and Vash turned to look at him.

"Why what?" he asked, knowing what Wolfwood meant. Wolfwood sighed and threw his cigarette down into the sand.

"If you knew who I was, why did you ask me to come along, how do you know I wont betray you?" Vash stared at him for a long moment before responding.

"I don't," was all he said before standing up and walking around the jeep and climbing into the back and turning on his side. "Night Nick." Wolfwood did not respond, he just stared out at the darkness, knowing that he would not be sleeping any time soon.

He climbed down off the jeep and walked away from it then turned back and looked at the boots sticking up above the side of the car and he made a decision. He turned back to the darkness for a few more minutes before turning back and climbing into the jeep.

"Night Vash," he said quietly before getting comfortable and soon fell asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

Ok, I'm back, I really have wanted to update this forever and now I have, yay! I'll be back soon but I have finals this week so yeah, promise to be back soon.

* * *

"Can you handle them?" Vash asked, looking across the desert towards a small oasis and Wolfwood took another drag on his cigarette.

"Yeah, its Legato I'm worried about," he said, looking back seeing the dust cloud heading their way, indicating someone coming.

"All right," Vash said, taking his cigarette from the startled priest and took a long drag and blowing it out and then handing it back to Wolfwood. "Just be careful," he said pulling his gun out and checking to see that it was loaded. After he saw that it was, he pulled out his sunglasses and placed them on his face and started out.

"Watch yourself Tongari," he called and Vash paused, turned slightly and smiled before turning back. Wolfwood climbed onto the hood of the jeep and waited for the dust cloud to reach him, leaning the Crosspunisher against the side, contimplating his decision.

* * *

_"He'll live through this?" Vash had asked the man from the church last night._

_"Yes," was the only response he received._

_"And the others?" Vash asked, pulling at his coat._

_"They will return to where they came from."_

_"What about the girls?"_

_"They are safe enough." Vash sighed and looked up at the man and then out at the darknes beyond the church. "Have you had a change of heart?"_

_"No, of course not," Vash said quickly and the man nodded._

_"They will be fine Vash, it is time," _with that Vash had awoken to see the suns rising.

Turning back towards where he had left his friend and the jeep, Vash sighed.

"Goodbye Nick," he said quietly and turned to resume his treck.

* * *

Nick watched the jeep pull up next to him and he looked confused at who was inside. Domonique and Kain were gone and instead, Legato sat in the driver's seat and Midvalley next to him.

"Where is he?" Legato asked coldly. Nick stared at him for a few moments before nodding towards the oasis.

"Had some crazy idea about facing his brother alone, he shot out the tire and knocked me over the head," he said indicating the blown out tire. Legato stared at him for a few moments and Nick stared back, keeping his mind blank.

"Are you with us or him?" Instead of answering, Wolfwood placed the Cross Punisher into the back and climbed in.

"What do you think?" Legato nodded and started up the jeep again, heading in the direction that Vash had taken not long ago. "Where is Domonique and Kain?" he asked after several minutes of silence.

"They paid for their failures," Legato said, looking at him in the rear-view mirror. Wolfwood nodded and looked away afraid Legato would pick up on his conflict of interest, he would eventually but he wanted to buy as much time as he could. Half way to the oasis Legato slammed on the breaks, throwing Nick and Midvalley forward.

"What's going on?" Midvalley asked and Legato just stared forward for several moments before pulling out a gun and turned it towards him. "What-" was all the other man got out before Legato shot him in the head. Wolfwood looked from Legato to Midvalley's body in horror.

"What the hell was that for!" he cried and watched as Legato's gun moved towards him. He dove out of the jeep and onto the ground, pulling the Cross Punisher with him as several shots rang out.

"Midvalley warned you Chapel," Legato called out. "You care, that will be your downfall." Unwrapping the Cross Punisher, Wolfwood stood, preparing to shoot, but he couldn't see Legato anywhere. He quickly spun around but didn't see the other man anywhere. As he turned around again, he felt something slam into him and a pressure inside his head dropped him to his knees.

_He stood outside the orphanage and he had to smile, but something was wrong, there was no laughter, no children were running around and it looked like no one was there or had been there in a long time. A sinking feeling made its way into his stomach and he moved forward, dread making his steps heavy. He pushed the front door open, jumping at the loud creak that it made. He stepped inside and blanched, the walls were covered in a thick red substance and the metalic smell of blood made his stomach roll. He walked quickly to the first door on his right and opened it and stared in horror at all of the small bodies broken and still bleeding. Wolfwood stumbled back and stopped himself from touching the walls. He ran to each room, his stomach fighting to rid itself of its contents, they were all dead, and had died in a gruesome way, most of them twisted and broken. By the time he reached the chapel at the end of the building, he was shaking so bad he could barely walk. He had lost the contents of his stomach several times and his throat was sore and his stomach still rolled, threatening to let more go, though he wasn't sure what was left._

_He sighed, seeing that the chapel was untouched and sat down, trying to catch his breath, as tears cascaded down his cheeks. The candles were lit and cast an eery glow on the stained glass windows. He sat there for how ong, he didn't know, and stood, not looking forward to the task ahead of him. As he stood, something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and he turned towards the front, recognizing the brown coat and boots and he tried not to run towards the body. He reached the third row from the front and looked down at the woman._

_"Milly," he whispered, bending down to see if he could find a pulse and bowed his head when he didn't find one. Standing up he noticed another body in the next aisle and he stared at her, sobs trying to make their way past his throat. "Meryl." He didn't want to look for a pulse, he was hruting too bad as it was._

_"What did you do?" a voice asked from behind him and he turned to see Vash standing there, holding his side as blood seeped through his fingers._

_"I... I..." Wolfwood said standing up straight._

_"You killed them," Vash accused harshly._

_"No... I..." Wolfwood tried again._

_"How could you do that, they were children!" Vash cried._

_"Vash it wasn't me!"_

_"I can't let a monster like you live," Vash said, raising his gun and pulled the trigger and Wolfwood cried out._

Legato watched Chapel writhe on the ground, his mouth twisted in a sick smile.

_Wolfwood dropped to his knees, holding his stomach, staring at Vash in shock and Vash just smiled back sadistically. Nick felt something building in the back of his mind and as the pain struck full on, a blinding light over took his vision and he screamed in pain._

Legato chuckled when the scream escaped Chapel's lips and looked towards the oasis, curious.

_Wolfwood was surrounded by pain, he couldn't think of anything other than how to make it stop, but he wasn't sure how to do that. He writhed on the ground and thought he heard something, but couldn't be sure._

_"Nick," he heard and he thought he recognized the voice, but again the pain over took him._

_"Nick," he heard, this time it was louder and he was pretty sure he knew the voice. "Its not real Nick, let go." Nick didn't understand, not real? "Nick!"_

_"Vash?" Nick called back weakly._

_"Yes, now open your eyes." Nick opened his eyes and noticed that the light wasn't so bright. "Thats it, Nick you have to defeat him, don't let him win." With that, Vash's presense seemed to leave._

_"Vash?" he called but got no response._

Legato turned back to the man on the ground, confused as to why he had stopped screaming and noticed that his eyes were open. Legato's eyes grew wide and he reached for his gun and fired a shot but Wolfwood had moved by then. Wolfwood pushed himselft up to his feet, his legs shaking.

"Do you think you can beat me?" Legato asked mockingly and Wolfwood shook his head, trying to clear it. Legato raised his gun again and Nick dodged, the bullet barely missing him. "When I'm finished with you, I'm going to go after your orphanage, do you think they'll beg for mercy?" Wolfwood glared at the man, wishing him dead.

"You wont touch the orphanage," he said, rolling again as Legato took another shot and came up, holding a gun. "You wont hurt anyone ever again," he snarled and two shots rang out.

* * *

**A/N: **Aren't I evil, sorry if people are out of character and everything, sorry I got rid of Domonique and Kain, but I couldn't come up with a way to get rid of them, I wanted it to come down between Nick and Legato in the end. Tell me what you think thanks!


End file.
